Award-winning actor Patricia Clarkson and director Rachel Feldman premiered their new movie on the remarkable life of Lilly Ledbetter at a film festival in New York on Oct. 12. Just two days later, the homespun Alabama factory worker from Possum Trot who fought for equal gender pay all the way to the Supreme Court died at age 86.

“That was rough, man,” Clarkson told me from the red carpet of the MCA Denver’s Holiday Theater on Saturday. She was about to receive Denver Film’s 2024 John Cassavetes Award for trailblazing film artists.

“But I know she’s with us in spirit. We all – men and women –  stand on her shoulders. And I want to say that playing Lilly Ledbetter was the privilege of my life. She is my hero, and I love her.”

Before she died, Ledbetter saw “Lilly.” Feldman saw to that.

“I went down to Alabama and I rented a movie theater to show it to her,” Feldman said. “She brought her friends. She was delighted that a movie had been made about her. She considered it her final act of activism that this movie would spread her word of courage and fighting for justice.”

The premiere screening in New York was also an extraordinary event, she said. “Lilly’s  daughter, Vicky, and her family, were with us. The very next day, Vicky went home to tell her mother all about it, and a few hours later, Lilly passed away. I mean, I think we feel that Lilly was waiting to hear that the film was being seen.”

Clarkson has won a lot of awards over the years, but she said “accepting the Cassavetes Award is a huge moment in my career,” one made all the more poignant by the Aug. 14 death of his wife, Gena Rowlands, whom Denver Film honored earlier in the day with a special screening of “Gloria.” Clarkson laughed when I asked if she has taken inspiration from Rowlands along the way.

“Are you kidding?” she said – twice. “She’s probably one of the biggest inspirations of my entire life. ‘A Woman Under the Influence’ defined everything for me.”

While Ledbetter’s dogged, 30-year journey to achieve equal pay for women (which even today still averages around 22 cents on the dollar less than men) makes for a stirring film subject, the irony is that Hollywood lags miles behind other industries when it comes to equal pay – and participation.

“The world is a rough place for women,” Feldman said (and she wasn’t just talking about Hollywood). A recent annual study showed that women directed just 16% of the 250 top-grossing films of 2023 – which is actually down 2 percentage points from 2022.

“I started my professional career back in 1980 and discovered after 10 years of struggle that only 1% of film and television were directed by a woman – and at that point, I became an activist,” said Feldman, who has recently released her own TEDx Talk on this very subject. “I think the numbers are actually much better now. In television, we’re up to about 38%. But among (all) feature films, we’re still only at around 7% or 8%.”

It should not surprise anyone that “Lilly” is working against those numbers from top to bottom.

“Oh, we were lousy with women on this film,” Clarkson said with a laugh – and all because of Feldman.

“Let me tell you, Rachel understood this story, because she lived it,” she said.

Perhaps the most remarkable part of Ledbetter’s story is not how ordinarily it began – growing up in a house without electricity or running water. It’s how late it blossomed. Ledbetter did not even go to work for the Goodyear tire factory until she was 41. Her fight for fair pay did not start until she was in her 60s. That led her to speak at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver (a moment recreated by Clarkson in the new film.) I asked her what Ledbetter’s example might mean to women, especially to those of advancing ages.

“Listen, my mother went to work to pay for five daughters’ college educations when she was 40 years old,” Clarkson said, “and she rose to be the president of the New Orleans City Council. Look, my career took off when I was 40.

“Women’s greatness and women’s power is endless. It’s timeless. You cannot relegate it to a certain period of time in a woman’s life. Women can rise no matter what age.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY

There are 27 screenings planned on 12 screens in four venues. Academy Award winning actor Melissa Leo (“The Fighter”), will present Denver Film’s Breakthrough Director Award to actor and former NFL cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha at a screening of “the Knife,” about a young Black family chasing the American Dream until a stranger mysteriously shows up in their home. 7 p.m. at the Sie FilmCenter.

SCREENING OF THE DAY

“Elevation,” starring Anthony Mackie (Captain America), is a post-apocalyptic thriller primarily shot in Boulder and Golden – and it utilizes a ton of local talent.

In this world, the only habitable place left for humans is in the high mountains. Below 8,000 feet dwell some nasty creatures that have killed off 95% of the population. Now a single father and two women must venture from the safety of their homes to save the life of a young boy.

Fourth-billed is Denver actor Shauna Earp as Hannah, but 75 background actors, crew and the entire town of Gold Hill were also involved. (The ensemble was put together by locally-based Sylvia Gregory Casting.) Mackie and director George Nolfi will take part in a Q&A following tonight’s 5 p.m. screening at the Holiday Theater. (Note that start time has changed.) “Elevation” will be released in theaters Nov. 8.

‘NICKEL BOYS’ COMES TO SCREEN

One of the most anticipated films of the year is “Nickel Boys,” an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s harrowing, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about two young Black teenagers trying to navigate a 1960s Florida reform school that is based on one where its abuses were so notorious, many felt the book might be unfilmable.

This is documentarian RaMell Ross’ first narrative film, and it is being celebrated for how it captures the full and authentic arc of Whitehead’s entire book through its cinematography and unconventional first-person perspectives. That’s something almost impossible for any film adaptation to accomplish.

“if that’s true, I think it originates from not trying to do an adaptation in a traditional sense, and also not trying to sort of illustrate the book, which is I think what people feel beholden to,” said Ross, who was awarded Denver Film’s Excellence in Directing Award on Saturday before a screening of “Nickel Boys” at the AMC 9+10.

Ross said he and co-writer Joslyn Barnes believed if they could “distill the book to its fundamental throughline and fully use cinema’s powers, then we can resist comparison.”

SALUTE TO AN EARWORMER

If I asked you who wrote the lyrics to the “Friends” theme song, would you know it was Allee Willis? The delightfully eccentric Detroit songwriter sold 60 million records (including hits like “September” and “Boogie Wonderland” as well as “The Color Purple” Broadway musical). But privately, she struggled with not fitting established gender and sexual norms. This film is a love letter to a woman known for her colorful prints, her signature asymmetrical haircut and the parties she hosted at her real-life Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.

“A big portion of the film is about her coming to terms with being a lesbian in the ’90s when that still wasn’t readily accepted,” said Denver Film Artistic Director Matt Campbell. Willis died in 2019, but her partner, Prudence Fenton, will be on-hand at a 4:45 p.m. screening of “The World According to Allee Willis” today at the AMC 9+10.

BATTER UP!

One of the most delightful films in the 2024 lineup is “Eephus,” an indie comedy about a pair of 1990s weekend-league baseball teams facing off for one last time before an imminent construction project takes their beloved field. “It’s more subtle than laugh-out-loud funny,” Campbell said. “It reminded me of early Richard Linklater ‘Dazed and Confused,’ where there’s not a whole lot going on but it has that dry wit to it and some really great performances.” It screens at 7 p.m. Monday and 4:15 p.m. Tuesday at the AMC 9+10, with director Carson Lund and actor Cliff Blake speaking at both.

STRANGER THAN FICTION

Here’s a story that sounds like it’s got to be made up, but it’s not: “Mistress Dispeller,” a documentary from China, tells you about a company you can hire to clandestinely break up your spouse’s affair without having to confront them directly. “It’s crazy,” Campbell said. “I mean, it’s the stuff of trashy reality TV – but it’s really, really well done.” Producer Maggie Li will speak after today’s 7:15 p.m. screening. Others are set for 2:30 p.m. Nov. 7 and 4 p.m. Nov. 9, all at the Sie FilmCenter.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Well, I hope after the film they feel the same type of feeling from when they see a whale breached in the ocean, or when they witness a volcano erupt, or something that’s sort of phenomenological, something that’s really visceral, sort of an aesthetic experience of history and the subjectivity of peoples of color. And even if they have no words after and they are unsure what it was about, if they could have that experience and that feeling, then I feel like we’ve done a good job.” – RaMell Ross, director of  “Nickel Boys”

TITLE OF THE DAY

“Nightbitch,” starring one-time Coloradan Amy Adams, is about a stay-at-home mom who comes to believe she is turning into a dog. One of its executive producers is Columbine High School grad Allison Rose Carter.  7 p.m. at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

INFORMATION AND TICKETS

Go to denverfilm.org

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